WITH more than half of the year’s £1,000 cheques having already been handed out, the Evening Mail in Barrow is looking for more worthy recipients for its monthly giveaway with the Lake District Farmers Armstrong Family Charitable Fund.

LDF managing director, Dan Austin, talked to EMMA PRESTON about what those behind the fund hope to achieve next.

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IT has hardly been business as usual for the team at Lake District Farmers over recent weeks.

Following the June fire which threatened to destroy years of hard work, they have bounced back at an astounding rate and continue to keep many of the country’s most famous chefs stocked with the high-quality meat they are renowned for throughout the restaurant industry.

It has taken tireless dedication, commitment and hard work from every member of staff at the company, meaning all hands have been well and truly on deck around the clock.

All the while the work of the charitable fund the business lends its name to has continued behind the scenes, with managing director, Dan Austin, determined that no worthy cause should be left by the wayside.

Every month, the Evening Mail gives away £1,000 of the money raised by the Lake District Farmers Armstrong Family Charitable Fund at its annual celebrity chef event hosted and sponsored by Clarence House Country Hotel and Restaurant in Dalton.

Of watching that work continue in the weeks following the fire, Mr Austin said: “Obviously, we never knew that something like this would happen but we always knew that going in to a relationship with the Evening Mail would secure the continuation of our charity work even if we were unable to be directly involved for a period.

“It's a great example that, even though the fire has occurred, regardless of what position the business is in, the charity work is continuing. It’s continuing to help the local community and, in a way, it’s something that gives us a lot of hope at a very difficult time.

“When we get that email to say who’s going to receive the money each month, when we hear how well it’s going to be spent and the work it will enable people to do, it lifts us all. That’s something we’ve needed.” 

The Lake District Farmers Armstrong Family Charitable Fund was set up by late Barrow businessman and philanthropist, Ray Armstrong alongside Mr Austin.

Born following Mr Armstrong’s diagnosis with liver and pancreatic cancer in August 2012, the scheme has continued to inspire generosity since his death in April 2013.

Mr Armstrong, who was boss of PKA and LDF, arranged for applicants to make bids for £1,000 donations through the Evening Mail, with the winners being featured in the newspaper once a month.

So far in 2015, the giveaways have demonstrated the diversity of groups and individuals in need of support across the Furness area.

From the MS Society’s Furness branch in January to Cumbria-DeafVision in March, a number of support groups have called on the fund.

Mr Austin said: “Something that tends to be consistent throughout a lot of the groups we support is the idea of bringing people together.

“To spend time with people who have the same problems, who are up against the same things and who are familiar with all of your struggles, that’s massive.”

Yet a donation to CAST Theatre Group in June demonstrated how wide a scope of causes can benefit from the generosity of the fund. 

Mr Austin said: “It’s the first time we’d been approached by a group like this, and it allows children to get together, to gain confidence, to have fun.

“A huge part of growing up is being creative. It allows us to develop, learn and explore, and we are humbled and delighted to help facilitate that.”

Families and individuals in need of help are being reminded that the giveaway is not only for groups and charities, but can help those in need of something life-changing such as specialist equipment or support services.

For groups who consider applying, Mr Austin said, there is more to be gained than just an isolated financial boost.

He said: "Since we started the work we've been doing with the Evening Mail, there have been groups who have come forward who we've since continued to give consistent, ongoing support to because we now understand their work and what they do and we are aware of their organisation.

“I have personal direct debits set up to some of these projects because I've heard about them through this scheme and that has inspired me on a personal level to support them. We hope there will be more examples of this when local people learn of the work these groups are doing.

“It’s not just about the original £1,000 donation, it’s about making people aware of the work these people do in order to create more support for them not just from ourselves but from the wider community.”

While the Evening Mail gives away the remainder of the year’s cheques, work will be starting behind the scenes to ensure the fund’s work continues in 2016.

For the LDF team, that means planning next January’s celebrity chef event.

Despite the pressures they face, Mr Austin is determined the event will be bigger and better than ever before and, for the first time, include a fourth night.

He said: “I think, with regards to organising the next event, we’re under more pressure than we’ve ever been.

“The business is in a position now where time is more vital than it’s ever been. We are working around the clock to recover from recent events and every resource we have in terms of time is being used.

"We have to create more funding so, for us, the focus has to be on organising ourselves in a way that means we can raise more money and support more charities next year.”

The recipient of the next monthly giveaway will feature in Monday’s Evening Mail.

Visit www.nwemail.co.uk/ldf to apply for the £1,000 donation.